County: Offaly Site name: Seefin
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 06E0487
Author: Eoin Sullivan, Gort Archaeology, Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 606519m, N 704028m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.086813, -7.902682
Assessment for the proposed development of domestic housing units with a crèche and shop facilities at Seefin, Birr, Co. Offaly, took place between 30 May and 2 June 2006. The field of the proposed development has a varied topography. It is part of a glacial knoll, the most elevated portion of which is at the north-eastern portion of the field. At the western side of the field, the land slopes sharply to the level area that is marked on the OS map as ‘a pond’. At the eastern portion of the field, the land slopes gently to the south, but the northern portion consists of low hillocks.
A field adjacent to the proposed development contains the remains of a ringfort (OF035–022), the western half of which has been quarried out. No known monuments were recorded as being present within the footprint of the proposed development. The area of the proposed development was assessed on the basis of fourteen test-trenches, which represented a cumulative length of 1560m. There were no features or soils of archaeological significance within the excavated test-trenches. The area around the pond was tested and no features or soils of archaeological significance were encountered in the area.
